40 Tube ticket offices to shut

Tube chiefs are to close dozens of ticket offices across London, sparking safety fears.

Many more stations will see ticket office hours cut, in a move described as a "recipe for chaos and confusion".

The order has been sanctioned by Mayor Ken Livingstone to force more passengers to use Oyster cards - which can be purchased outside stations - instead of cash.

The 40 stations to be hit by the closures from March next year include some in central London - among them Cannon Street, a key interchange with mainline rail. Regents Park, closed for a refit, will not have a ticket office when it reopens next week.

Passengers have repeatedly expressed their fear of using stations left without visible staff. London Underground said about 240 ticket office workers would be trained for other station jobs or for driving trains. A Tube spokesman claimed the move would make stations safer, as workers would be more "visible" on platforms.

But Keith Norman of union Aslef added: "This raises clear safety issues. The ticket office would be the first point of call for passengers needing help." Brian Cooke, of passenger watchdog LondonTravelwatch, said: "There are an awful lot of passengers who will want to talk to staff faceto-face. Regents Park is a major station for tourists.Barrie runs the parking ticket appeal website AppealNow.com™
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© 2006 & 2007 Barrie Segal - All Rights reserved

Barrie Segal is the founder of AppealNow.com™ and is a regular radio broadcaster in the UK.
Barrie is the author of The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness and Traffic Warden Hell publishing date 1st August 2007 - click on the title to order

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